Our Title V funded Research Teams at McMurry and Cisco are on the move!  After a formal process of proposal, review, and applications from students, four teams have been formed and began their work in January. Funding for Year 1 will provide them with supplies to support their work through the end of the grant year on September 30.   Two Research Teams focus on ecological studies.  One is all about cancer research.  One is centered on renewable resources and sustainability.  All are consumed with introducing students to research and building in them a passion for science and the thrill of discovery.

In the coming year, each team will tackle a hard question in science, one that is worth answering.  They will think critically about how to answer the question, how to design experiments or studies to help unlock the mysteries.  They will learn the methods of science by working alongside scientists and will discover the depths of understanding found in the answers revealed.  They will see that the broad strokes used to paint an “understanding of science” in most classes is a “tourist’s view” of science, and that there is much, much more.  They will sharpen skills of critical reasoning and confidence and analysis and communication, things that will help them stand out from the crowd.  In short, they will grow as students and as human beings in ways that are not always outcomes of a STEM education.

Our hope is those engaged in research become excited about science and desire to pursue careers of discovery, whether in a science field, a health profession, or in any direction their imagination takes them.